Judge blocks OPM's civil-service policy question
Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge George O'Toole blocked the Office of Personnel Management from continuing to ask civil-service applicants how they would advance Trump's policies and executive orders. The judge found the unions were likely to show no legitimate government interest in probing applicants' political beliefs and that the question likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act by infringing First Amendment rights.
Response / context
OPM did not immediately respond to Reuters. It previously described the question as optional and said hiring decisions could not be based on political beliefs. This is a preliminary injunction against an agency policy, not a final merits judgment or a finding of personal wrongdoing by Trump.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Sep 11, 2026 · 8:08 PM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-09-11. The injunction was issued September 11. Reuters published its report at 20:08 Eastern that evening; the UTC timestamp and URL fall on September 12.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
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Read the original sources
- Reuters: US judge blocks Trump administration's 'loyalty' question for job applicants ↗
Published September 11 at 20:08 Eastern · direct article text read; linked order did not yield extractable text
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